1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to reinforcement and anchor assemblies and more particularly to reinforcement and anchor assemblies that are mechanically joined through extremely high pressure. In this manner, the mechanical jointure of the metal occurs when the resulting heat from the compression pressure causes the metal to liquify and fuse. The reinforcement and anchor assemblies described are for use in masonry backup walls and, in particular, cavity wall constructs requiring superior anchoring properties and low-profile anchor configurations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent developments of low-profile and high-span anchoring devices, several metalworking techniques that had not previously been utilized, were employed with significant and gratifying results. Some of these developments arose in response to shifts in public sector building specifications which have resulted in architects and architectural engineers requiring larger and larger cavities in the exterior cavity walls of public buildings. These requirements are imposed without corresponding decreases in wind shear and seismic resistance levels or increases in mortar bed joint height. Thus, wall anchors are needed to occupy the same ⅜-inch-high space in the inner wythe and tie down a veneer facing material of an outer wythe at a span of two or more times that which had previously been experienced. In essence, while the height of the bed joints in both the inner and outer wythes are fixed by trade standards, as wall cavity spans increase because of added insulation, stronger reinforcement is required. The end result needs to incorporate wire formatives of the thickest gauge, adequate mortar coverage of the insertion end of the wall anchors and the veneer anchors, and secure metal joining between the wall anchors and the reinforcing truss or ladder structures. The invention described herein accomplishes these ends in a novel and unobvious manner.
Exemplary of the public sector building specification is that of the Energy Code Requirement, Boston, Mass. (see Chapter 13 of 780 CMR, Seventh Edition). This Code sets forth insulation R-values well in excess of prior editions and evokes an engineering response opting for thicker insulation and correspondingly larger cavities. Here, the emphasis is upon creating a building envelope that is designed and constructed with a continuous air barrier to control air leakage into or out of conditioned space adjacent the inner wythe.
Another application for high-span anchoring systems is in the evolving technology of self-cooling buildings. Here, the cavity wall serves additionally as a plenum for delivering air from one area to another. While this technology has not seen wide application in the United States, the ability to size cavities to match air moving requirements for naturally ventilated buildings enables the architectural engineer to now consider cavity walls when designing structures in this environmentally favorable form.
In the past, the use of wire formatives have been limited by the mortar layer thicknesses which, in turn are dictated either by the new building specifications or by pre-existing conditions, e.g. matching during renovations or additions the existing mortar layer thickness. While arguments have been made for increasing the number of the fine-wire anchors per unit area of the facing layer, architects and architectural engineers have favored wire formative anchors of sturdier wire. On the other hand, contractors find that heavy wire anchors, with diameters approaching the mortar layer height specification, frequently result in misalignment. Thus, these contractors look towards substituting thinner gauge wire formatives which result in easier alignment of courses of block.
In the past, there have been investigations relating to the effects of various forces, particularly lateral forces, upon brick veneer construction having wire formative anchors embedded in the mortar joint of anchored veneer walls. The seismic aspect of these investigations were referenced in the first-named inventor's prior patents, namely, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,875,319 and 5,408,798. Besides earthquake protection, the failure of several high-rise buildings to withstand wind and other lateral forces has resulted in the incorporation of a requirement for continuous wire reinforcement in the Uniform Building Code provisions. The first-named inventor's related Seismiclip® and DW-10-X® products (manufactured by Hohmann & Barnard, Inc., Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788) have become widely accepted in the industry. The use of a wire formative anchors and reinforcement wire structures in masonry walls has been shown to protective against problems arising from thermal expansion and contraction. Also, such structures have improved the uniformity of the distribution of lateral forces. However, these past investigations do not address the mortar layer thickness vs. the wire diameter of the wire formative or the technical problems arising therefrom.
Over time and as the industry matured, besides the Uniform Building Code other standards came into existence, including the promulgation by the ASTM Committee A01 on Steel of the Standard Specifications for Masonry Joint Reinforcement, A951-00 (hereinafter A951). The Standard sets forth that masonry joint reinforcement is to be assembled by automatic machines to assure accurate spacing and alignment of all members of the finished product and that longitudinal and cross wires are to be securely connected at every intersection by an electric-resistance welding process that includes fusion welding together with applied pressure to join the materials. The Standard further sets forth details as to the exterior of the longitudinal wires and the mechanical requirements of the overall construct.
According to the ASTM Committee A01, joint reinforcement has been used in the masonry industry since 1940. In introducing A951, the Committee states:                For most of the period since then, its manufacture has been limited to a relatively small group of producers and users who simply referred to “manufacturers' recommendations” as the standard of quality and acceptance. With the adoption of a new consensus standard for the design of masonry, it became clear that a standard for the manufacture of joint reinforcement was needed. In developing this standard it was decided to use a format similar to that used for the ASTM Standard for Welded Wire Fabric, Plain, for Concrete Reinforcement, Specification A185, since many people had the notion that joint reinforcement was used in a manner similar to wire mesh. A significant difference between wire mesh and joint reinforcement arose when an attempt was made to fashion the requirements for weld shear strength after those in Specification A185.        
The Committee found that almost all of the manufacturers of joint reinforcement use butt welds so that the total thickness of material at a weld is as small as possible. This is important since, in conventional mortar bed joints, there is not much room to install joint reinforcement. In addition, it found that in masonry joint reinforcement the majority of product produced is that with a “truss” configuration in which the angle of intersection varies for each different width of product produced since the pitch between welds is a constant 16 inches. These characteristics differentiated the testing for weld shear strength from those of Specification A185 and resulted in the development of a distinct test methodology.
In addition to addressing the thickness and strength of the reinforcement, the costs and safety related to the manufacturing of the product are also considered. The invention herein addresses the need for a safe and efficient manner of production, by utilizing a novel method of attachment that does not require the welding that is taught by the prior art. Further, the present invention implements a manufacturing process that saves on the costs of production and material beyond those previously disclosed.
The present invention employs a method of production that utilizes a wire formative of the same gauge for both the intermediate rod and the eye wire extensions. Such wire formatives are cut into the required lengths and the eye wire extensions are configured to accept a veneer anchor. The wire formative is either a single unit that serves as the intermediate rod and the eye wire extension or separate units. By using a single size wire formative for each component, and forming the veneer anchor receptor from such wire formative, production of both the intermediate rod and eye wire extension can be performed concurrently, saving both time and resources.
Once the wire formatives are cut, they are joined at the predetermined locations against the side rods using a method of high pressure mechanical fusion that causes a sufficient quantity of heat and pressure, so that the top layer of the joining metals flow until fused. The energy from the high pressure impact plasticizes the materials and forms a fused connection. High pressure fusion creates a joint similar to a lap joint, which is favored over the previously disclosed butt weld due to the low tensile strength of a butt weld solder. Such fused method produces a reinforcement and anchor assembly that is safer and more economical to produce.
In the course of preparing this disclosure several patents became known to the inventors hereof. The following patents and patent applications are believed to be relevant and are discussed further as to the significance thereof:
patentInventorIssue Date3,377,764StorchApr. 16, 19684,021,990SchwalbergMay 10, 19774,373,314AllanFeb. 15, 19834,473,984LopezOct. 02, 19844,869,038CataniSep. 26, 19894,875,319HohmannOct. 24, 19895,230,136Cronn et al.Jul. 27, 19935,392,581Hatzinikolas et al.Feb. 28, 19955,408,798HohmannApr. 25, 19955,456,052Anderson et al.Oct. 10, 19955,816,008HohmannOct. 15, 19986,209,281RiceApr. 03, 20016,279,283Hohmann et al.Aug. 28, 200110/179,432Getz et al.Dec. 25, 2003
It is noted that with some exceptions the following devices are generally descriptive of wire-to-wire anchors and wall ties and have various cooperative functional relationships with straight wire runs embedded in the inner and/or outer wythe.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,764—D. Storch—Issued Apr. 16, 1968
Discloses a bent wire, tie-type anchor for embedment in a facing exterior wythe engaging with a loop attached to a straight wire run in a backup interior wythe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,990—B. J. Schwalberg—Issued May 10, 1977
Discloses a dry wall construction system for anchoring a facing veneer to wallboard/metal stud construction with a pronged sheetmetal anchor. Like Storch '764, the wall tie is embedded in the exterior wythe and is not attached to a straight wire run.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,314—J. A. Allan—Issued Feb. 15, 1983
Discloses a vertical angle iron with one leg adapted for attachment to a stud; and the other having elongated slots to accommodate wall ties. Insulation is applied between projecting vertical legs of adjacent angle irons with slots being spaced away from the stud to avoid the insulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,984—Lopez—Issued Oct. 2, 1984
Discloses a curtain-wall masonry anchor system wherein a wall tie is attached to the inner wythe by a self-tapping screw to a metal stud and to the outer wythe by embedment in a corresponding bed joint. The stud is applied through a hole cut into the insulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,038—M. J. Catani—Issued 091/26/89
Discloses a veneer wall anchor system having in the interior wythe a truss-type anchor, similar to Hala et al. '226, supra, but with horizontal sheetmetal extensions. The extensions are interlocked with bent wire pintle-type wall ties that are embedded within the exterior wythe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,319—R. Hohmann—Issued Oct. 24, 1989
Discloses a seismic construction system for anchoring a facing veneer to wallboard/metal stud construction with a pronged sheetmetal anchor. Wall tie is distinguished over that of Schwalberg '990 and is clipped onto a straight wire run.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,581—Hatzinikolas et al.—Issued Feb. 28, 1995
Discloses a cavity-wall anchor having a conventional tie wire for embedment in the brick veneer and an L-shaped sheetmetal bracket for mounting vertically between side-by-side blocks and horizontally on atop a course of blocks. The bracket has a slit which is vertically disposed and protrudes into the cavity. The slit provides for a vertically adjustable anchor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,798—Hohmann—Issued Apr. 25, 1995
Discloses a seismic construction system for a cavity wall having a masonry anchor, a wall tie, and a facing anchor. Sealed eye wires extend into the cavity and wire wall ties are threaded therethrough with the open ends thereof embedded with a Hohmann '319 (see supra) clip in the mortar layer of the brick veneer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,052—Anderson et al.—Issued Oct. 10, 1995
Discloses a two-part masonry brick tie, the first part being designed to be installed in the inner wythe and then, later when the brick veneer is erected to be interconnected by the second part. Both parts are constructed from sheetmetal and are arranged on substantially the same horizontal plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,008—Hohmann—Issued Oct. 15, 1998
Discloses a brick veneer anchor primarily for use with a cavity wall with a drywall inner wythe. The device combines an L-shaped plate for mounting on the metal stud of the drywall and extending into the cavity with a T-head bent stay. After interengagement with the L-shaped plate the free end of the bent stay is embedded in the corresponding bed joint of the veneer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,281—Rice—Issued Apr. 3, 2001
Discloses a masonry anchor having a conventional tie wire for mounting in the brick veneer and sheetmetal bracket for mounting on the metal-stud-supported drywall. The bracket has a slit which is vertically disposed when the bracket is mounted on the metal stud and, in application, protrudes through the drywall into the cavity. The slit provides for a vertically adjustable anchor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,283—Hohmann et al.—Issued Aug. 28, 2001
Discloses a low-profile wall tie primarily for use in renovation construction where in order to match existing mortar height in the facing wythe a compressed wall tie is embedded in the bed joint of the brick veneer.
US 2003/0233804 A1—Getz et al.—Pub. Date Dec. 25, 2003
Discloses a joint reinforcement, for use in a masonry wall unit, with eye sections and cross rods concurrently manufactured and butt welded to the joint reinforcement side rods. The method of manufacture removes secondary assembly of the eye sections.
The present invention provides a novel method of production using high pressure and the resultant energy to liquify and fuse the wire formatives. This novel approach removes the environmental effects of welding and the safety concerns and high costs associated therewith.
Other alternatives to welding have been developed in related areas, such as methods for joining sheet metal using punch and die sets. An example of this method of attachment is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,136—Cronn et al.—Issued Jul. 27, 1993. In Cronn, a die is disclosed to join sheet metals with thicknesses of about 0.02 and 0.05 inches. Cronn employs a clinching process by which sheet metals are joined through interlocking. The clinching process utilizes metal deformation and specifically avoids fusion to interlock the sheet metals. While this method of attachment is useful for sheet metal, it is not practical for joining wire formatives for anchors and reinforcements where a permanent meld is required. As discussed previously, there is limited space in the mortar joint. Employing Cronn's method would cause an interlock that increases the height of the wire formative. Such increase would potentially result in an anchor and reinforcement that exceeds the maximum allowable mortar joint height, or require the use of flimsy wire formatives that would jeopardize the integrity of the wall reinforcement. The present method of attachment joins the wire formatives in a manner which allows for proper placement and reinforcement of a cavity wall structure.
None of the above prior art provides either separately or when taken in combination the fused wall anchor and wall reinforcement devices hereof or the anchoring systems utilizing these devices. As will become clear in reviewing the disclosure which follows, the masonry backup walls benefit from the recent developments described above that led first to solving the problems of high-spans and of providing high strength anchoring within the profile limitations. In the related Application, wire formatives are compressively reduced in height at the junctures between the wall reinforcements and the wall anchors. This enabled the stacked components to be inserted within the bed joints and still have a covering of mortar. While this approach worked well, alternatives utilizing techniques such as fusing under heat and pressure are presented hereinbelow.